History-making Llull leads Madrid to victory in Berlin

Real Madrid opened the second round of the Euroleague with their third consecutive win in the competition. Our team defeated Alba Berlin at the Uber Arena in a game they controlled almost from the start thanks to their defence and 9 three three-pointers in the first half. Chus Mateo ‘s team finish the year maintaining the positive momentum of last week. Llull, who put in a great performance with 20 points and 5 three-pointers, equalled Kyle Hines' record as the player with the most games played (425), while Tavares (9 and 10 rebounds) became Madrid's top rebounder in the Euroleague (1,759). Hezonja also stood out (18 points and 21 PIR).

As expected, the game took on a very high tempo from the start. Alba Berlin, true to their direct style and short possessions, tried to stand up to a Madrid team that, nevertheless, played along. And not only that, but they did so convincingly. They were focused on defence, allowing 15 points to the Germans, and had a tight focus in attack, with six three-pointers. A great start from Musa, with 10 points, and the entry of Llull (6) and Hezonja (5) in the final stretch of the first quarter, gave the Whites a +13 lead in the first 10 minutes. That was enough time for Tavares to overtake Felipe Reyes as Madrid's top rebounder in the Euroleague (15-28).

Llull takes centre stage on his big day
The captain wanted to celebrate his historic 425th Euroleague game in style and brought out his talent with two great plays. The first, a three-pointer with a personal foul included to score four points; and the second, another from the corner turning around before it went in. Four out of four for the Spaniard. Hugo González joined the party from downtown and put the ninth in Madrid's account. With 17 up (26-43, min.17), Madrid committed several mistakes that led them to lose control of the game at times, giving oxygen to Alba Berlin, who managed to close the gap before the break (34-45).

The home side were more incisive in the third quarter with former Madrid player Spagnolo. But without being as accurate as in the first, Chus Mateo's men were able to maintain a cushion of between 7 and 10 points thanks to defensive rebounding and several outstanding plays from Campazzo, Deck, Tavares, Hezonja and Llull. The madridista was the top scorer of the game with 15 points (51-61, min.30).

Hezonja brings the game to a close
Alba Berlin continued to challenge our Whites for victory. But again Llull, with his leadership, and a great Hezonja, with a run of 8 points in a row of his 10 in the last quarter, delivered the final blow to take the third consecutive victory and take another step forward in the competition (69-80, min.40).

ALBA BERLIN-REAL MADRID STATISTICS